Regional teles surprise with bids on 5G

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The participation of Brisanet, a regional telephone, internet and TV operator, surprised by its boldness. The company offered R$ 1.2 billion to take the 5G to the Northeast in the auction promoted this Thursday (4) by Anatel (National Telecommunications Agency).

The bid, considered too bold, was reflected in B3 – the company is publicly traded. This Thursday (4), the company’s shares, which opened the trading session at R$ 7.67, fell to R$ 6.48 after the bid for 5G frequencies.

Investors regained their spirits later, after new bids by the operator in regional blocks, signaling that it will considerably increase its revenues, and the company closed up 1.71%, at R$ 7.73.

Recently, the company obtained financing through infrastructure debentures encouraged by the government and prepared for a dispute with Highline, which pressured Anatel for changes in the 5G notice to compete with Brisanet. Competition, however, did not occur.

The company’s billionaire bid in the Northeast left out Highline, which only participated in the event thanks to a change in the rules of the notice, allowing the company to start operating 5G in smaller cities. The agency made an exception for regional coverage blocks.

In blocks with national coverage, the rule of installing 5G networks from more populous cities continues to apply.

Brisanet was founded by José Roberto Nogueira from Ceará, a self-taught man born in Pereiro, in rural Ceará, who started his career at Embraer.

He founded Brisanet in 1998 as an internet and fiber optic provider. The company has a network of 14.4 thousand kilometers of optical fibers connecting Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco and Alagoas.

Nogueira is one of the hundred richest Brazilian businessmen in the country. According to Forbes magazine, it accumulates a fortune of R$ 4.8 billion.

Another regional that stood out was the 5G Sul Consortium, formed by União Copel (an affiliate of Sercomtel) and Unifique (an operator that serves Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul).

Entrepreneur Nelson Tanure, shareholder that controls Sercomtel, acted behind the scenes in the offer’s strategy. The group was quite aggressive and won the C6 lot of the 3.5 GHz (gigahertz) frequency after 15 bids disputed with Meganet, another regional. In the end, he won by paying R$73.6 million.

Tanure was one of Oi’s shareholders who tried to acquire control of the operator in the midst of the judicial reorganization process. The strategy didn’t work.

The company, which sold its cell phone arm to Claro, Vivo and Tim, is awaiting the approval of Cade (Administrative Council for Economic Defense) and Anatel to conclude the deal.

In Oi’s restructuring process, it was transformed into a telecommunications infrastructure company and this company was acquired by BTG. The deal is still awaiting Anatel’s approval. Called Vital, this company supplies inputs (networks and cables, among others) for Oi itself and other operators.

In addition to the large operators, the states of Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo will also have Cloud2U, a manufacturer of network equipment and optical fiber, headquartered in São José dos Campos (SP).

The company offered BRL 405 million for a 3.5 GHz regional lot and became a new 5G operator. The strategy will be to seek partnerships with smaller internet providers that already have fiber optic networks installed.

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